SURPRISE, Ariz. -- What A Match!

Cal State LA's women's tennis team has had its share of thrilling wins in a tremendous 2017 season, but Thursday's nailbiter might have topped them all.

The Golden Eagles picked up the deciding point from Luciana Di Laura at No. 5 singles and edged Azusa Pacific, 5-4, in a quarterfinal match at the PacWest Conference Championships. No. 23 Cal State LA (13-6) won for the second time in three meetings against No. 21 Azusa Pacific (14-9) this season and all three matches have been titanic struggles.

Di Laura, the lone newcomer among the Golden Eagles' top six, has made quite an impression in her first year with the program. She improved to 14-2 in singles after her clutch 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Azusa Pacific's Jackie Resler. Di Laura and Resler had center stage as they battled through a wild third set with teammates looking on. Di Laura, after dropping the first set, rallied for a 6-3 win in the second set and then jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third set. Resler, though, won the next three games to tie it at 4-4 before Di Laura held serve after a long struggle and then broke Resler to end the match.

The team match took just under five hours to play and Di Laura and Resler were the last ones standing in their pivotal contest.

Nearly all nine points were earned via hard work. Cal State LA took a 2-1 lead after doubles after an 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles from Iris Raileanu and Isabella Lopez and an 8-5 win at No. 3 doubles from Di Laura and Elizaveta Sokolova. The Golden Eagles' No. 1 doubles team, Nozomi Matsuoka and Kayleigh Hall were edged in their match by Natalie Johnson and Lisa Schneider at No. 1 doubles, 8-6.

Sokolova earned the Golden Eagles' third point with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles and Lopez picked up the fourth point with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 6 singles. Azusa Pacific climbed back into the match after Kara Hinton rallied for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Raileanu that made it 4-4. That match ended right as the Di Laura-Resler match was headed to a third set.

Cal State LA has now won five matches by 5-4 scores, including victories over No. 5 Hawaii Pacific, No. 17 Sonoma State, No. 19 Point Loma and now No. 21 Azusa Pacific.

The win also gave Cal State LA a 2-1 head-to-head decision over Azusa Pacific. The Cougars won the first meeting in Azusa, 6-3, on Feb. 16 after sweeping the doubles. In the rematch on April 5 in Los Angeles, the Golden Eagles swept the doubles on their way to a 6-3 victory. In the third match, Cal State LA had a 2-1 edge in doubles and narrowly kept that advantage after a nervewracking afternoon of singles.

Cal State LA advances to the semi-finals for a third straight year and will face the nation's No. 1 team, BYU-Hawaii. The Seasiders advanced with a 5-0 win over Concordia-Irvine.

2017 PacWest Conference Championships
Azusa Pacific vs Cal State LA (Apr 20, 2017)

#23 Cal State LA 5, #21 Azusa Pacific 4
Apr 20, 2017 at Surprise, Ariz. (Surprise Tennis & Raquet Complex)

Singles competition

1. #35 Natalie Johnson (APU) def. Nozomi Matsuoka (CSLA) 6-3, 6-3

2. Lisa Schneider (APU) def. Kayleigh Hall (CSLA) 6-3, 6-2

3. Elizaveta Sokolova (CSLA) def. Valeriia Kashina (APU) 6-1, 6-1

4. Kara Hinton (APU) def. Iris Raileanu (CSLA) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2

5. Luciana Di Laura (CSLA) def. Jackie Resler (APU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

6. Isabella Lopez (CSLA) def. Tatiana Betancourt (APU) 6-4, 6-3

 

Doubles competition

1. Natalie Johnson/Lisa Schneider (APU) def. #14 Nozomi Matsuoka/Kayleigh Hall (CSLA) 8-6

2. Iris Raileanu/Isabella Lopez (CSLA) def. Valeriia Kashina/Jackie Resler (APU) 8-6

3. Elizaveta Sokolova/Luciana Di Laura (CSLA) def. Kara Hinton/Tatiana Betancourt (APU) 8-5

Match Notes

Azusa Pacific 14-9; National ranking #21; Regional ranking #6

Cal State LA 13-6; National ranking #23; Regional ranking #5

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,2,6,1,4,5)

PacWest Conference Championship Quarterfinal

Official: Ray Yost T-4:54 A-25